This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Thursday, 19 February 2009

Coming Back to the Fold

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ
ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Some
couples are together for so long that it seems inevitable that they end up
married because those around them cannot imagine them with anyone else. And they were a couple. They were in a relationship since they were
in school. The girl was a Muslim. The guy was Sikh. Being together for such a long time, their
respective families knew each other. However,
religion was still an issue. Although
there was pressure to, both of them could not get married since neither would
convert to the other’s religion.

Heartbroken,
the girl went for hajj. She made a du’a at the Ka’bah and those are amongst the most powerful of du’a.
She made up her mind that when she got back, if he were not a Muslim,
she would forget about him and move on.
In this, the lesson is to be careful what we ask for. Allah (s.w.t.)
Grants it. But it does not mean we
understand what we have asked for.

When
she got back to Singapore, to her shock, she found out he had converted to
Islam. The problem was, in her heart,
she had already moved on. They did get
married but she did not love him like before.
But she felt responsible since in her mind, it was her du’a in Makkah that resulted in his
conversion. That was the ego. Everything is Written. We are only the means Ordained. He became a devout Muslim. Her family loved him. But she found love elsewhere and was caught
having an affair. It is the tragedy of
the human condition. And this eventually
caused her family to turn against her and side with him.

Several
years later, the marriage finally broke down irrevocably. And she asked for a divorce so that she could
marry the other man. It was a painful
break up and he lost his faith in Islam.
He refused to be addressed by his Muslim name at Shari’ah Court when he was there to drop the thalaq. He formally left
Islam soon after the divorce as finalised, a bitter man. Soon after, she got married again. Her family did not attend the wedding.

Years
later, a friend of mine was in the mosque in Ramadhan. They were getting ready for tarawih prayers and he was trying to
find a place when he bumped into the person behind. It took a while but after the bitterness
dissipated, he came back to Islam. In
his case, his relationship with his Muslim ex-in-laws was excellent and that
was the catalyst for everything.

The
lesson here is that as long as a link is maintained with at least someone in
the community, there is a chance that someone who left the religion can come
back. In this case, the ex-in-laws
accepted his decision and gave him support in a difficult time in his life. We never give up on those who have left. Until the day they die, they can still come
back. And verily Allah (s.w.t.) Loves the Return. In the same vein, we must not be complacent
in the Path. Hold tightly to the rope of
faith and remember that Shaythan
deceives even until the moment the soul is taken. The self is in rebellion even until the Day
of Standing.